We Need a Time Anomaly!
by Flutes Armada
Summary: Set after A Tale of Two Stans. Dipper and Mabel want desperately to fix the biggest problem in the shack. They set out to go back fifty years, but they discover more than they bargained for.
1. Chapter 1: Mabel's Worry

We Need A Time Anomaly!

Set after A Tale of Two Stans. Dipper and Mabel want desperately to fix the biggest problem in the shack. They set out to go back fifty years, but they discover more than they bargained for.

Chapter 1: Mabel's Worry

Mabel lay awake all night, wondering and worrying _._ It wasn't right for Stan and Ford to fight like this. Twins were supposed to be best friends, and a few stupid mistakes drove them apart for life. She looked across the room at her brother as he slept peacefully. She narrowed her eyes and whispered, "Don't worry Dipper, that will never happen to us. I _promise._ And Mabel _keeps_ her promises."

But still, all night she lay awake, thinking about the older twins. Then finally, that bad thought that she tried to keep down popped into her head: _Our family is in jeopardy._ Two sets of fighting Twins, people would pick sides. Tears weld up in Mabel's eyes as the image of her beloved family members glaring at each with anger flashed across her mind. Those ugly, nasty looks would ruin their whole family.

"Pines stick together!" Mabel screamed suddenly. Across the room Dipper shuffled.

"Mabel? You okay…?" He asked drowsily, barley opening his eyes.

Mabel sat up in bed and folded her hands on her lap.

"Uh, yeah…I just, had a bad dream…" Mabel muttered, staring down at her hands.

The next morning Dipper woke up to his sister pouncing on him and screaming.

"Dipper, wake up wake up wake!" Mabel chanted while shaking him by the shoulders. Dipper's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

"Mabel! You could have killed me!" He said with a frown. Dipper's expression suddenly shifted to a look of worry, as he noticed that his sister had heavy bags under her eyes.

"Sorry Bro-bro." She said while poking his nose with hers. "But I've got something I REALLY want to show you!" She jumped off of him and went to her side of the room.

"Ta-da." She sang as she pulled a blanket off her bed, revealing to large sweaters. Dipper got up and walked over. On the left was a black sweater with a golden claw shaped thing. To the right was a red sweater with a golden six fingered hand.

"M-Mabel…" Dipper said smiling.

"This is awesome…"

"I KNOW!" Mabel screamed as she waved her arms above her head. "Just a little something chef cooked up in the kitchen of creativity!"

Mabel jumped up on her bed and started bouncing up and down.

"Now those two idiots will remember what it's like to be a pair again!"

Dipper's smile faded.

"Mabel? Do you really think this will get them to stop being mad at each other? I mean these sweaters are awesome, but is it really enough?" Dipper asked.

Mabel stopped jumping and thought for a moment. She shrugged.

"Well, maybe it won't fix EVERYTHING right away, but it's a working progress."

She jumped on the bed and started folding up the sweaters.

"Don't worry about it bro-bro! Mabel's got it all covered." She said before she left the room. When he ws alone, Dipper thought about how she must have been up all right making those sweaters. It wasn't could for her health and Dipper made a mental note to make sure that she went to sleep early tonight. Dipper knew that things would work out with the elderly twins eventually, but he couldn't help but think Mabel was trying more to convince herself then him.

Stan was in his usually chair, but the TV wasn't on and he was just staring into space. His eyes looked sad and lonely so Mabel sprang into action.

"Sha-BAM!" Mabel called as she flung the black bundle right at his face. It fell so that it covered his head like a sack.

"Alright what's this?" He asked while he reached up.

"Oh, just a little something from me to you!" She said, and pointed between the two of the as she spoke.

"Mabel? Alright kid, what's going on…?" He looked down at the sweater in his hands and his mouth fell agape slightly. Then he smiled and looked at Mabel.

"Alight kid come here!" He called as he pulled her in for a hug.

"You're literally the only person I know who'd do something this random." He pointed at the claw symbol.

"OH, you know….!" Mabel said with mock embarrassment. "Just thought it'd suit you."

"Well, you've got skill Kid. You should be making these thing for the gift shop. It'd save on a lot if you know what I mean."

While he spoke Mabel unfolded the red sweater and held it up. Stan frowned when he saw the sixth fingered hand on it.

"It's for Ford!" Mabel said cheerily.

Stan didn't say anything, so she lowered the sweater and asked in a concerned voice, "Grunkle Stan? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Stan said quickly. He leaned back in his chair and looked thoughtful.

"Thing's with Ford just aren't what I wanted them to be, you know?"

"Oh, Grunkle Stan, It'll all be okay." She reassured him and patted his arm.

"I hope so kid, I really hope so…."

"Well, I'm gonna go give Ford his sweater. Basement right? See ya!" Mabel said, rather forcefully.

"Mabel wait!" Stan was close to yelling. It must have scared Mabel because she jumped up three feet. Mabel turned around and her eyes were hug and almost watery.

Stan sighed. "Looks….I..I'll bring it down to him, alright?"

Mabel perked up right away, but on the outside she carefully gave a casual smile.

"Great!" She went up and folded the sweater on the skull next to Stan's chair.

As she left she ws grinning ear to ear. Things were going even better than she'd anticipated.

Back in the living room, Stan looked at the red sweater and covered his face with his hands. He'd do _anything_ to get his brother back. In fact, he already did and Ford still didn't want him. But at least he had Mabel in the house, cheerful and happy as ever. That at least made things somewhat bearable.


	2. Chapter 2: A Good Sign?

We Need a Time Anomaly!

Chapter 2: A Good Sign?

Mabel stared hypnotized at glittery cotton candy stuffed in jars almost as tall as she was. Her pupils grew into star shapes and she was drooling slightly. Dipper and Soos stood aside and watched her.

"Wow Soos, this is great. Mabel loves this place." Dipper said.

"I know dude. This is where I always came whenever I was feeling down in the dumps. Abuelita always brought me here. Favorite place in the whole town. Well, until the Mystery Shack that it."

The two of them laughed, and Dipper looked around the shop. The place was a candy paradise, decorated in bright colors and decked out to the ceiling in sweets. Kids of super highs were bouncing all over the place. Even those twins who look oddly like Dipper and Mabel were there too. The boy was laying down on a sack and holding his stomach, which was visually very stuff. His sister say on the floor and comforted him. He had trails of sour candy all over his mouth.

Dipper followed Soos over the wall filled with dispensers. He filled up a paper cup with round, sour candies.

"You know dude, you should always remember what it's like to be a child." He said to Dipper.

"It's one of those things that makes life so great."

Dipper nodded his head and looked over to his sister, who was now running around with some over sugar crazed kids. Candy was actually with her, go figure.

"I know what you mean. If Mabel ever lost her inner child, well, I just don't know what I'd do. It's what makes her, her."

"You're sisters a nutcase. Totally loveable though."

Mabel ran over and shoved a big marshmallow turtle into Dipper's mouth.

"C'mon dudes, enjoy yourselves. It's all on me." Dipper was in the process of chewing, so Mabel asked, "Is that really ok Soos?"

Soos looked over at the cashier behind the counter. She smiled and waved.

"Let's just say I and the guys here go way back."

They strode down the street, each carrying a brown paper bag filled with candy. Dipper especially liked how some of the selections looked like anomalies written about in the journals.

"Whoa! What is going on here?" Mabel asked in surprise.

In the street there seemed to be some kind of outdoor display going on. Pieces were on display behind ropes people gathered around to see them.

A very large group had situated on one particular side, and the three of them wondered over. A hansom teenager with black skin and expensive clothes was standing next to a huge water basin and charismatically charming the audience. Dipper was in thinking mode as he examined the basin.

"…I've seen those marking before," He said as he reached into his vest and pulled out the journal.

"Those were in the walls and that ancient temple site. Look." He opened to a page that displayed black stone structures with golden accent paint. While Dipper talked to Soos, Mabel's eyes wondered over the basin. A large hourglass shape was smack dap in the middle of it. She thought about Globnar and the giant Time Baby. Mabel looked over at Dipper and Soos, who were both distracted by the journal, then Mabel began to push her way through the crowd.

Up front the boy was talking about the mysteries of the basin, when suddenly someone was saying,

"Excuse me, hi, hi." He looked and saw a short girl with fluffy brown hair emerging out of the crowd.

"By chance, would it be possible to look _inside_ the basin?" She asked.

The boy looked at the basin, and then said "Well yes, I suppose that'd be alright. But how do you plan on getting up-hey!"

The fluffy haired girl jumped on him and started climbing up like she was on a ladder. She sat on his shoulder as he struggled awkwardly to keep his balance. Mabel gazed into the basin and sure enough saw the time baby's face etched into the bottom. She quickly jumped off her guide and declared that that was all she needed and disappeared.

"Dipper! Dipper!" Mabel called as she ran back to them.

"Mabel? Where were you?" Dipper asked.

"I got a look at the basin, it has something to do with the Time Baby from Globnar!"

"The time baby? Are you sure?"

Mabel nodded her head. "Positive."

"Globnar?" Soos asked.

"Remember that birthday when we got you that time wish?" Mabel asked.

"That's where we went to get it. The arena."

"Are you serious? Mabel that thing could be connected to time travel! Man I wish we could get a better look at it!"

Mabel almost said it right there, but she looked at Soos and figured it should be something she and her brother discussed privately.

"You can do this Stan. He's your brother after all."

Stan stood outside of the vending machine, a bowl of chowder in one hand and the red sweater Mabel made draped over the arm. Just get in, give him the stuff, and get out. That was the plan.

"Okay, here we go."

He punched in the code and rode the elevator down. When he got to the basement Ford was standing by the portal with his back towards him, writing on a clipboard. Something is Stan's chest shook as he looked at his brother. Finally gathering the courage, he stalked over to the side of the room.

"Hey, uh, nerd!" He called. Ford looked over his shoulder, appearing very annoyed and not thrilled at all. Stan dropped the bowl on the top of the machine.

"It's chowder. You have to eat sometime." The unsaid 'since you won't come up at eat with us' hung in the air. Ford turned his head away, and for a second Stan could have sworn he did a cliché "Humph" with it. Stan furrowed his brows and marched out of the basement.

He stopped midway and held out the sweater.

"Your great grandniece made this for you by the way." Stan said bitterly. He carefully put in on the back of a chair and left.

Ford stayed still in place and listened for the elevator to stop. When that happened, he turned around at dropped his stoic, angry face. He looked at the bowl Stanley had placed-carelessly- atop one of his machines. Then he turned around and saw something on the chair. He refused to look at his brother at all, so he didn't know what else he'd brought. He advanced towards the chair, and a deep red sweater came into view. _Mabel_. She had a fondness of sweaters as well, even wearing them in the summer. He picked it up and saw that it was extremely well made, tight and even stitches, would probably last a lifetime. His eyes trailed down it and he saw the golden six fingered hand.

 **A/N: This was mostly exhibition on Mabel and Dipper's part, but I had to set up for the time travel eventually. The time traveling will probably start in the next chapter, so stay tuned :) Thank you everyone who's reading! I hope you guys are liking it so far!**


	3. Chapter 3: Into the Catalyst!

We Need a Time Anomaly!

Chapter 3: Into the Catalyst!

The Twins' silhouettes fell against the navy blue blanket they used to make a makeshift indoor fort. They sat facing each other with their glowing gas lamp placed in between them. Mabel had tapped a big, glittery piece of paper on the outside that read **Tent Twin.**

When they got home Mabel knew it couldn't wait any longer. At dinner Stan had been unusually quiet and solemn. He even avoided eye contact with them and clearly didn't want to talk. Dipper and Mabel fell silent too with concern. The empty chair next to Stan made everyone feel uncomfortable. They all knew that a certain twin brother should be sitting there, and his absence did nothing but sting.

When it looked like Stan had eaten all he was going to, Dipper jumped up and volunteered himself and Mabel to do the dishes and clean up. Stan looked at them skeptically, but Mabel went up to him and shared their understanding of the situation and told him to just take it easy and sleep on in. Stan smiled sadly at her and picked her up in a hug. Then he bounded around the table and picked Dipper up too. Stan's laugh was the first sliver of genuine happiness since this whole portal fiasco, and the pair couldn't be happier to see their Grunkle happy.

As Dipper and Mabel cleared the table and washed the dishes, they talked about their concern for the older set.

"They just….I want them to get along," Dipper was saying.

Mabel picked up clean dishes in a stack and brought them over to the cabinet.

"They _will_ , Dipper. I don't believe for a second that they don't love each other anymore." Mabel said confidently.

"But Mabel, after ten years Great Uncle Ford still didn't forgive Stan. Now it's been thirty years, and Stan was the one who pushed him through the portal to begin with."

"Ford's the one who branded his own brother." Mabel stated. "They've both done bad things." She took a deep breath.

"I've got something I need to talk to you about Dipper."

"Alright Mabel, how are we going to fix this?" Dipper asked his sister in the comfort of their own fort.

He wouldn't admit it, but he liked the little tent they had made. Nothing spectacular, but it released some of the tension because of how it made him feel like a kid again.

"You know that basin thing from the outdoor museum?"

Dipper nodded, and Mabel braced herself.

"It's connected to _time travel_ Dipper! If we can figure out how the work it, then we can go back and stop Stan from messing up Ford's project. I'm sure if that never happened then they would've stayed close."

After she got it out, Mabel wasn't even afraid of backlash. In fact, she's only grown more confidant in her plan.

Dipper stared at her for a minute.

"Mabel, I'm sure that would do the trick. But we don't know anything about this form of time travel."

Dipper said, clearly alluding to the time measuring tape thingies that Blendin Blandin had used.

"Dipper please!" Mabel said. She clasped her hands together and put on her puppy dog look.

Dipper looked away with his it's-probably-not-a-good-idea face. But then Dipper surprised her.

"Okay Mabel. We'll go to the temple and check things out. But I am in no way agreeing to time travel just yet. This could be dangerous."

He nodded at his twin, and she nodded back. It was risky, since this form of time travel is foreign to them. But they both remembered that it's what got Soos feeling better on his birthday, and even helped him let go of baggage and move on. Maybe they really could pull it off.

Down in the basement, the author of the journals, Stanford Pines, sat alone in the dim lighting. He gave out mentally, but wasn't tired enough to sleep, so instead he sat here in his old lab and thought about the state of things. It was…..strange, being is a house with a family, but not truly being with them. He never planned to go upstairs. As long as Stanley and the kids were here it was not truly his house. He didn't have the solitude that he'd loved so much when he first came to Gravity Falls. But at the same time, it made him feel sad. He hadn't truly been with a family in four decades (three of which were Stanley's fault). But he remembered back in his early days of research and the journals. He missed having a family. He forgot what it was like to eat at a full table, or have conversations in passing around the house. Perhaps he _could_ have that now…

"But _no!_ I don't deserve that…" He said aloud and dropped his head in his hands. "Not after I shut Stan out, no after I burned him for life…."

He looked down at one of his hands. With the thumb and index of the other he touched his sixth finger.

"…High six?" He remembered.

For some reason there was a tropical area in Gravity Falls Oregon. The mystery twins stood in front of the entrance to a cave that would eventually lead to the temple. They'd been able to walk here, although it was over a long distance. Away from the cave there was a strong, gushing river and right now they stood on white sand. All around them were coconut and banana trees. Mabel had picked up a fallen coconut and was now holding it in her hand.

"For our victory drink!" She sang.

Dipper adjusted his hat. "Alright Mabel, let's do this."

The temple was not very exciting. Most of it was just hallways with that fancy design they was in the journal. Dipper could not find a map of any kind.

"Use the light trick thingy!" Mabel said.

"I already tried that back at the shack. Nothing's there."

They walked for a long time without finding anything. Eventually, Dipper turned to Mabel and recommended they turn back.

"I just think that if we go see that guy from the street display-the one who knew all about the basin- then we'd have better luck!" Dipper tried to talk reason into his furious girl counterpart.

"Dipper! We didn't come all this way for nothing!" She said, fuming. "We just have to keep trying!"

Marcus started to hear voices coming from somewhere within the temple. He took one final photo of hieroglyphics before he started following in. It got louder and louder and soon he was looking out of a hidden and easy to miss doorway. There he saw…..fluffy haired girl? His eyes widened in shock. That was a bold little girl who wanted to get a better looked at the basin…and proceeded to climb on top of him to do so. She was arguing with someone who looked exactly like her but with short hair and a hat on. And she was holding a coconut…? He also, startlingly, took into account that she did in fact have a weapon on her. A holster-like pouch was at her left hip –pink and decorated with clouds-that held a grappling hook.

He approached them, and since they didn't hear it footsteps in his heavy hiking boot, he raised up his hands and said "Whoa there friends."

They stopped their bickering and looked at him. Then they both broke out into their own reactions. The fluffy haired girl ran up to him screaming and waving her arms with a big friendly smile on her face, while at the same time her brother broke out into a fit of questions and something involving unbelievable timing. He watch the twins go on and on until it became apparent that they wouldn't stop.

"Guys? GUYS?" He called over them. When they both did, he started inquiring.

"Alright, so what are you guys doing here?" He asked in a friendly manor.

"The magic basin!" the girl said.

The boy was clicking a pen and holding a strong book with a hand design on the front.

"Okay, you're gonna think we're crazy, but we're looking for a means of time travel." He said.

Marcus raised his eyebrow at a pleasant surprise. "Good thing for you, I know the place."

As it turned out, Marcus's father was an explorer who came to Gravity Falls. He studied this place for a long time but eventually had to leave.

"He said he never could return back." Marcus said with a shrug. "So I took up his research. I work for that museum you came. I tell the stories of all the object we display."

"That's really cool Marcus!" Dipper said excitedly. "We should go adventuring together once all of this is over."

"And what exactly is 'all of this?'" Marcus asked him. Dipper and Mabel glanced at each other before they simultaneously agreed that they needed to tell Marcus the truth.

"We have two great uncles…" Dipper started.

"Who won't stop fighting and we need to fix the past!" Mabel blurted out.

Marcus nodded his head in understanding. "Family troubles. I get it, I have a brother I don't get along with. We're just too different."

"Why don't you go back in time and change it?" Mabel asked.

Marcus chuckled. "See, the thing is, I did a lot of things out of spite, and they made we who I am today." He looked down. "I don't like that we fight, but I like where I am now." Marcus smiled down at the twins. He was quite taller than them, probably right in-between their height and Wendy's.

Eventually they came into a very large and spacious room. In the center of it was an ancient looking bathtub made of stone. Dipper and Mabel both made questionable faces at it and looked at Marcus.

"I know it's stupid." He said matter-of-factly. He placed his lantern on a stone slab next to it.

"Alright, get in. I know how to send you back." Mabel and Dipper hopped over the side.

"And you're _sure_ you can send us back to the right time?" Dipper asked cautiously.

"Yep. If you guys do end up in the wrong time, just call out to me and I'll bring you right back."

"You can watch us?" Mabel asked.

Marcus nodded his head. "Once you transport back I can watch you guys in the water. That's the design of this place, to have one person back working it manually. Kind of guaranteed escape if anything goes wrong."

Marcus settled behind the slab, which seemed to function like a control table.

"Alright, do you know what time you guys are going back to?"

Mabel and Dipper looked at each other with their mouths hanging open.

"Don't remember huh? Well, luckily there are a few different ways to do this."

He pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil set.

"Mabel," He said, pointing at her. "If you can draw some images accurately then we can use those as the reference."

Mabel gave him two thumbs up and took the paper and pencils. Dipper hopped out of the tub to give her room to work and went to stand beside Marcus.

"You your dad keep a journal of all his research?"

Marcus shook his head. "Nope, we keep it all up here," he said as he tapped his head.

"Really? You're able to keep all that information memorized?" Dipper asked in amazement.

"Yep. But I take it your pretty braining too right?"

Finally, Mabel was done with the pictures. Dipper noticed that she only drew happy moments of the Stan twins' lives. Dipper was back in the tub with Mabel and Marcus was getting things in order. There was a silver plate on the side of the tub. Marcus removed in and water started fill up rapidly.

"ARGGG!" Dipper and Mabel both flinched at first, but then they realized the water somehow wasn't soaking their clothes or getting them wet.

When the tub was appropriately filled, Marcus called out "You guys ready?"

"Yeah!" they shouted in unison.

Marcus worked at the stone table and soon the tub began to rumble. Marcus raised his voice over it.

"Alright guys, close your eyes, hold your breathes, and wait five seconds. Then you'll be back!"

Dipper and Mabel eagerly held hands, took a deep breath at the same time, and then submerged themselves in water.

 **A/N: Okay, so a timing traveling bathtub? I know, I know, pretty weird Idea. I just wanted something light and ridiculous to keep the good old Gravity Falls feeling. Sorry about having an OC, but it felt needed to keep the story going. Also sorry about this chapter being this long, I didn't anticipate that I would need this much build up to this form of time travel. Anyway, now that all the explaining is done, we can get into the actual act of time traveling in the next chapter! I promise, I'll get right into it!**


	4. Chapter 4: An Unexpected Detail

We Need a Time Anomaly!

Chapter 4: An Unexpected Detail

It felt like cinder blocks were weighing down on their heads. Five seconds. Then they were back to normal. Dipper and Mabel opened their eyes and found themselves on a board walk. Off in the distance was a sign that read Glass Shard Beach.

"It worked!" The twins cheered in unison.

Mabel ran over to a large rock formation and poked her head up.

"Dipper look!" She called over. Dipper joined her side and said "no way!"

Looking down into the sandy white beach they saw young Stanley and Stanford Pines running across, full of wide smiles and laughter.

"It's the young Stans!" Mabel cried.

"Man, it's awesome to see them actually getting along." Dipper said, amused.

The he thought for a moment.

"We're too far back, we need to get to before Stanley messed up the project!"

Mabel put of her serious face. "Right, I've got this."

She climbed up on the rocks and yelled "hey twins! How old are you?!"

Over and the beach the Pines boys stopped and looked at a girl with long brown hair who was yelling to them. They look at each other momentarily because Stanford called back.

"Nine years!"

"Awesome!" The girl replied with a thumbs up. The. She leaped down behind the rocks.

The boys just stared confused. Stanley smiled mischievously and wacked his brother in the shoulder while he was distracted.

"Nerd!"

"Jerk!"

"Hey Marcus! You hear that!?" Mabel yelled up to the sky above the bored walk.

"We need to jump ahead to when they were seventeen!"

Dipper opened his mouth to say "do you really think it's that simple?" Very matter-of-factly, but then that strange ringing surrounded them again. They closed their eyes and it felt like they were being lifted off the earth by a strange alien beam. Somewhere in that Dipper thought he heard a casual voice say "you got it!"

Now they were standing in a street at night. Down the road to the saw they saw a teenage Grunkle Stan walking down the street with his hands in his pockets, grumbling angrily.

Mabel grabbed Dipper's arm.

"Let's go!"

They ran past their future Grunkle, who looked up and saw his past relationship with his brother in the two brown haired twins.

The projects were on display in an unused space along the plaza.

They spotted the bag of toffee peanuts on the floor and realized that they were too late

"Just a little further back Marcus!" Mabel called up to the ceiling once again they shut their eyes and where lifted off the ground.

Now they were in a different part of the street and they spotted Stanley, still with the bag in his hands.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan." Dipper announced.

Mabel poked her head out from an alley. Stanley was in sight.

"Hey! Children fighting!" She yelled.

Then she ran up and tackled her brother to the ground. They yelled and pulled each other's hair as a crowd formed around them.

"Take this you nerd!" Mabel yelled over dramatically as she bopped her brother on the head, carefully not to use real force. Dipper pushed her off.

"Oh yeah? You're the one always copying my homework!"

Stanley appeared among the ground. (What? Children fighting?!")

Eventually a local store keeper came and broke them up. He was really tall and big and had a lobster tattoo on his shoulder. He pulled them away from each other carefully.

"That's enough you two." He said very calmly. "Siblings always going to fight. It's the law of the land."

He let go of Dipper and Mabel's arms and they both turned away from each other, pretending to still be mad.

"Come on kids, where're your parents?"

"In California!" Mabel yelled. Dipper bit his lower lip to keep himself from bursting out laughing.

She was making the scene even worse than they intended. While it went on with the man with the lobster tattoo, Dipper looked out in the distance and saw Grunkle Stan leaving in the direction opposite of the projects. Dipper smiled and did a little fist punch. It had worked!

Mabel had told a tragic tale of how their parent's left them in Glass Shard to follow their own dreams of show business. The man with the lobster tattoo was actually a big softie and let the kids go their own way. As they walked down the road he called out to them to remember that anger will eventually fade and that they'd find happiness somewhere.

"Aww, he's a good guy!" Mabel cooed.

"Now our grunkles won't hate each other anymore." Dipper said proudly.

"Let's go back right now. Tell Marcus."

"Hey Marcus! Mabel yelled and raised a thumbs up. "Success!"

They returned to the magic tub and found Marcus as they had left him.

"So you guys think you did it?"

"Totally." Mabel said coolly.

"Alright. How bought I zap you forward a little so you can check out the new reality?"

"You can do that?" Dipper asked. "We'd love to!"

"Alright, sit tight and I'll bump you forward thirty minutes" Marcus said happily.

Eyes closed.

Underwater.

Five seconds

Mabel and Dipper landed just outside the Mystery Shack. They ran in and saw that Stan was finishing another tour, encouraging them to "BUY MORE MERCH!" When it concluded the twins ran through the tourist who were now heading to the gift shop. Stan was leaning against a display counting tips. When he looked down he was kind of creeped out. The kids were just standing there all wide eyed and grinning like mad. He folded the bills and put them in his jacket.

"Okay kids, what's going on?"

"Ohhh, we just wanted to see how you and your bother were doing." Mabel said in her very Mabel-y way.

"What of it?" Stan's face fell very sadly and he looked down. "We haven't even talked since the other day. And he's not making any attempts to come up."

Both Dipper and Mabel let their mouths fall agape. Stan had turned and was now walking away, speaking melancholy.

"He won't believe me, he just thinks I'm a big liar..."

The twins looked at each other.

"Dipper!" Mabel cried. "It didn't fix anything!"

"I don't understand!" Dipper growled in frustration. "Stan didn't mess up the machine, we stopped that."

Mabel was quiet for a moment.

"Dipper..." She said, voice very quiet and worried. "What if someone else did?"

This time when they went back they hide and waited for Stanley to come by. They heard him venting about losing his brother. SMACK. Stanley hit the table.

After Stan left the building, Dipper and Mabel pulled the tarp off and looked at the machine. It was actually still functioning. Dipper examined the vent and found that it was fine.

"Someone else might have sabotaged it." Dipper said. "Ford was really smart, someone was probably jealous of him."

"So we just need to wait for someone else to come and then we'll know who did it?" Mabel asked. Dipper nodded.

They waited for a long time, probably an hour, when they heard the doors open. Dipper and Mabel crouched down behind the same project like before, and in came...Stan's mother?

The twins looked at each other, perplexed and in denial. Would a mother really sabotage her son's future?

Their great-grandmother walked up to Ford's project. They hadn't put the tarp back on.

She was holding a baby in her arms, and held him out so he could see them project.

"Ya see that Fordy?" She said gently. "This is what Stanford made. It'll get him into a great college."

She held the baby close to her heart.

"Oh...your papa's in tears about this. He just can't stand to see his brother go..."

Dipper and Mabel's eyes widened.

She looked down into the baby's peaceful face.

"Don't forget that you're Stanford II. Your dad loved his brother so much he named you after him. Stanford II Sherman Pines. Don't ever forget that."

She smiled sadly at the bundle in her arms and left without another word. Dipper and Mabel came out from behind the project and stared in blatant shock. Neither one of them could quite find words.

Stanley Pines was in his office, glumly looking out the window that the kids had accidently used to temporarily blind him when they projected a rainbow into it. Those were the good ol' days of summer; back when everything was relaxed and they went on their crazy adventures with the supernatural. It was outright depressing that this summer would be the Mystery Shack's last. It was a staple on the town, and this the fall of Little Midget Gideon, they were somewhat of public heroes. Stan could remember seeing so many of the Fallers growing up in this town. He didn't want to leave any of it; this place was his home. Gravity Falls was the one honest place where he truly felt like he belonged. Maybe so much had to do with the fact that this is where his brother chose to make his home.

While Stanley Pines starred out the window, intellectual Stanford Pines was done in the basement repairing his machines. He wasn't making much progress though; his run away thoughts hindered his work significantly. Finally he put his wrench up and sat doe would probably need a change of clothes soon. He scowled because he didn't want to ask Stanley for anything. Not only did it hurt his pride, but it was also unfair to ask him for any favors.

Ford looked around the room, scanning over all the machinery he kept there.

Before the accident this is where he was most of the days, down here surrounded by cold machines. It only got lonelier after Fiddleford quite. He thought of how he hadn't even left the basement since he came back. Had Gravity Falls changed? At the moment all he wanted was to look out that window towards the falls. That had always been a favorite sightof his, calming and tranquil.

Stanford was lost, unsure of what to do in the world after he'd been absent from it for thirty years. Meanwhile, Stanley felt the sting from having his brother-once again- shut him out from his life. Both the brothers were hurting in one way or another. What really was to become of them by the end of the summer…?


	5. Chapter 5: Clearing up and Getting out

We Need a Time Anomaly!

Chapter 5: Clearing up and getting out

Mabel and Dipper were at a loss of words. Evidently, Stan had a child.

"But I thought that was their baby brother," Was what Mabel said.

"I guess not," Dipper replied.

Mabel stood up and started heading for the door.

"Mabel? What are you doing?" Dipper called after his sister.

"I'm going to go figure out what's going on! Grunkle Stan has a surprise kid and I'm going to find out what is going on with this family!" Mabel sounded like she was on the verge of crying. She had a lump in her throat and was obviously very affected emotionally.

"Mabel!" Dipper caught up to her.

"We can't just go up and start asking questions! I doubt they'll answer us anyway. And we can't tell them we're from the future either, it could ruin everything."

Mabel stopped marching and sighed.

"Okay, but what are we going to do? We can't just pretend we don't know what we know now."

"Let's got to the Pawn store and just…listen. If Stanley really does have a son it would probably come up eventually."

"Then let's follow that baby."

They had Marcus zap them inside the house. They went back to before Stanley went to see the machine, so the time line was the same as before.

The twins hid in a cupboard under the stairs, looking out a vent together. Even though it was distracting from the original plan, Dipper and Mabel both agreed that they needed to figure out what was going on.

Stanley came back soon and they saw the fight he had with his father. It was pretty much the same as the Stans had told them, but they did omit one particular part.

"I'm sick of all you're messing up, Stanley!" His father was saying.

"You've always been ungrateful to this family! Your mother and I have been raising your kid since you messed around with that McCorkel girl! I knew she was trouble the minute I saw her."

"What do you know about Carla!?" Stanley was furious. "She was the one person besides mom who ever believed in me!" He stalked towards his father and stared him straight in the eyes.

"Carla cared about me and accepted who I was. Something you could never do!"

"And she left you for a hippie. What does that say about your relationship? It wasn't stable, it wasn't solid, and it wasn't _real!_ We've been cleaning up that mistake from day one, trying to give your son a good life, and this is how you repay us? By ruining our chances of getting out of this run down city?"

"You don't even care about Ford!" Stan yelled. "You only like him for his brains because it gives _you_ some kind of glory!"

"Stanford was gonna be our ticket out of this dump!"

Then his father threw him out, just like that. With an already packed bag waiting, Stanley was left with the president that only money would earn him his family's love and his own self-worth.

From in the cupboard, the twins were shaking. Dipper was visible upset and Mabel has small steams of tears running down her face. She raised her hand up like they agreed and Marcus was bringing them back.

The three of them sat in the temple. They had recounted the events they had discovered, although Marcus was already fully aware; he watched over them the entire time and experienced it with them.

They concluded that Grunkle Stan was really the grandfather they thought had gone missing years ago. And all this time they had believed that Stanley and Stanford had a baby brother. But no, the baby their great-grandmother was taking care of in the past-Shermy-was in fact their own father, Stanford II Sherman Pines. They sat in the temple for a long time, trying to take in the news. Marcus was very patient with them, and he stepped away for a moment to give them space. They talked about possibly things they could do. They called Marcus back into the room when they agreed on a definite plan. Marcus reassured them that he'd be there for them through this whole endeavor. Dipper checked his watch and saw that they had been there for almost the entire day. Marcus told them to go home so Stan didn't worry, and agreed to put the plan into motion the following day.

Marcus led them out of the temple, and along the way he called a friend to get a ride. He mentioned that he'd be taking two extra passengers.

He was actually a teenage girl named Laura. She rolled up in a camouflage jeep and was dressed for hiking, complete with pitch black shades. Laura was an adventurer like Marcus, but she preferred treacherous terrain. The twins hopped into the back.

"So where you little people headed?" She asked them.

"Mystery Shack. You know where that is?" Mabel asked.

Laura laughed, rather amused.

"'Course I do! It's a town favorite am I right? All that stuff with Little Gideon?"

"Right-o, you got it sister!" Mabel replied.

"Thanks again for giving us a ride." Dipper said

"No problem, I'll have you there in a flash!"

Marcus looked back them.

"Laura's the best off-the-road driver around!"

"We're not taking the…-wahhh!"

The jeep was speeding over chunky and uneven bolts of land. When they past the normal road the Sheriff and Deputy started chasing after them but Laura yelled "Ain't nothing against off-road driving in Gravity Falls!"

They both stopped-they were on foot- and the Deputy flipped through the hand book.

"Does it really say that?" Dipper asked over the sound of the engine.

Laura didn't give him an answer, she just laughed joyously.

Dipper frantically looked at Marcus, who shrugged an I-don't-know with a smile.

They reached the Shack very quickly (Thank goodness" Dipper said"". The sun wasn't setting and they got back a reasonable time before dinner. Stan would just think they were off adventuring with the journals. It was true, but they didn't intend to share details.

Stan was restocking the gift shop when they came in.

"What have you two been up to all day?"

Dipper got very sweater and tried to think of an excuse on the fly, but then Mabel took the lead.

"Jeff the gnome king stole my necklace. I wanted it back." She announced simply.

"Necklace? What necklace, I 've never seen you wear a necklace." Stan said suspiciously.

"That's because….they took it the very first day we were here, remember? They were the first baddies we ever faced."

Dipper was surprised by the amount of tales Mabel had told today. Mabel was usually so opposed to lying. They had a whole episode about giving Stan truth teeth because she didn't want him to lie anymore. But Mabel was lying so flawlessly now. Dipper wasn't sure if he should be impressed or worried.

"Hm, how much would you say this necklace would be worth? If I could sell copies in the gift shop…"

"I'm not sure. But I'll definitely bring it to you once we get it! We're going back tomorrow, but we got a lot of useful info today!" Mabel fibbed cheerfully, and Dipper told himself to talk to her about that later.

That night when the twins were ready for bed, Mabel jumped up and down on her bed nervously, but her brother was nestled in his own bed reading. He was reading a mystery book, and not the journal like he usually did. Dipper glanced over and saw his sister had her thinking face on while she jumped.

"Hey Mabel," Dipper said, closing his book. "You should try and relax. Do what you'd normally do, you know?" Mabel let herself fall back onto the bed. She sat up and sighed.

"I can't Dipper, I just want to go and fix everything right now." She said anxiously.

Dipper smiled gently.

"Don't worry, sis. We have the plan set. We've got everything we need, and hopefully something will go wrong so you can use your grappling hook. You haven't gotten to use that yet actually."

"Oh Dipper, I don't care about using my grappling hook." She kicked her sheets back with her feet.

"I just want to make everyone happy and okay." She pulled the covers back over her and lay down. She turned her head to look at Dipper.

"It'll be okay Mabel, I promise." Dipper said reassuringly.

"Get some sleep, we need to be well rested for tomorrow."

Dipper turned off the lamp on their shared nightstand. The boy fell asleep with a peaceful smile of his face, while the girl slept with doubt flashing through her mind.

"You ready for this Mabel?" Dipper asked that morning. He placed the journal in his usual vest pocket and pulled his backpack on. Mabel nodded, she had to favorite messenger bag on. Dipper didn't really need a bag, since everything they actually needed for the plan was in Mabel's messenger, but he explained as they walked through town that he packed a lunch for the three of them to eat together when it was all over.

Dipper walked happily and even whistled a tune, but Mabel was very nervous about today. They spotted Marcus hurrying up to them on the sidewalk and rushed to meet him.

"Hey guys! I was on my way to the shack right now, but this is great!"

"Thanks Marcus!" Dipper said gleaming. "I'm so excited for today. This is it!"

He and Marcus got into an in-depth conversation. Mabel was dragging behind them with a solemn expression. She stared at the pavement and followed behind them using her peripherals.

It was late morning them they reached the temple and they hurried to the time travel room. Marcus and Dipper discussed the plan one more time. Soon it was time to go and they stood in the tub together. Dipper was beaming and Mabel decided she would try to perk up for her brother. She knew they would be able to pull it off. Her heart wasn't pounding or rushing, but it did beat harder than usual.

"Five seconds," Marcus said. She looked at her brother. He smiled back.

"For family," He said.

"For family," Mabel agreed with a grin before they submerged.

They were back on the street at nighttime. The plan was simple, wait for the real culprit to appear and ambush him before he could ruin the machine. They didn't crouch down behind a project this time. They waited in a dark corner adjacent to the door. Mabel and Dipper both put their bags down to be prepared. They watched Stanley come by, then their Grand-mother with their father as a baby. After they left Mabel suggested that they get rid of the bag of toffee peanuts that Stanley left behind. Dipper agreed and ran out to get it. They waited for a while, knowing that patience was needed to make this plan work. Mabel had doubted that someone else had even come in. She thought that Stan really had broken the thing. But Dipper was so sure it ws fine.

Eventually, well into the night, someone crept into the room. He was a high school kid and he had a screwdriver in hand. He went up to the perpetual motion machine and tore the tarp off. Dipper and Mabel moved into action.

They carefully went outside without making a sound. Then, together they burst into the room with Mabel holding a large flash camera.

"Hold it right there!" Dipper yelled. The culprit jumped up and turned around. He dropped the screwdriver in surprise.

Mabel took a picture and the flash illuminated the dark room for a second. All three felt disorientation because of the sudden light with their eyes already adjusted to the dark. Maybe smiled and took a few more rapid pictures. Dipper looked away and covered his eyes after the first time but the high school student did not.

He rubbed his eyes and yelled.

"What's going on here?" He demanded.

"You're not going to mess up Stanford Pines's project. If you do these pictures will be all over the newspaper tomorrow morning!" Mabel declared. Both Dipper and Mabel stool with bold and confidant smiles, knowing they absolutely had caught him. Dipper also had his hands of his hips.

"Aggh! Fine!" He yelled as he kicked the screw driver across the floor. "Geez, I didn't know six Fingers had such deranged little siblings. Forget it, I'm getting out of here." He scrambled out the door, leaving Stanford's project functioning just fine.

"High-five!" They cried and jumped up. The sound of the victorious high-five was a perfect way to end things.

Dipper held his thumb up.

Alright Marcus, now pull us up and send us thirty minutes forward, just like we planned."

"Dipper our bags!" Mabel whispered.

"Oh, right! Right after we get our bags!"

They collected their things and went back to the machine. Mabel was putting her camera back in the messenger bag and Dipper was taking one last look at the project. Mabel joined him and he gazed fondly. Mabel smiled too, relieved that the plan had worked.

"Alright bro-bro, let's go see our new future."

"Right!" Dipper nodded, and called up to the ceiling.

"Okay Marcus! We're ready to go!"

Pull.

Eyes closed.

Five seconds.

Dipper and Mabel were confused. The placed that they landed wasn't what they were expecting. They thought that'd end up somewhere in the mystery shack. There was a tall and wide window with a sill, and a plush pink carpet on the floor. Wait a minute….

It took them a minute to register that they were in the upstairs hallway of their house. _In California._

 **A/N Okay so it was great to finally get to the fixing of the past! In this story Stanley is in fact the Grandpa. Miss. Carla McCorkel is their grandmother! I still believe that this theory is true in the show, because we don't really know WHO Shermy is yet. But what are you doing back in California? Hmmmm? Thank you everyone who has been keeping up with this story! I'm glade so many people are enjoying it! I right for you guys to enjoy! Stay tuned, I'll have the next chapter up soon!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Alternate Reality

We Need a Time Anomaly!

Chapter 6: The Alternate Reality

 **A/N: Hey Guys! I'm so sorry about not updating like I have been. I had some social events going on so I didn't have much time to write. Thank you for being patient! I start band camp tomorrow but I promise I'll write a little every day. I'll try to have the next chapter at the end of the week. Thank you!**

Dipper and Mabel carefully walked down the stairs, they were on red alert for any useful signs. Their house looked pretty much the same except for maybe a few _very_ minor differences that they didn't catch, if there were any at all. At the bottom of the stairs was their living room, and they spotted their dad standing there looking at his phone, probably checking emails. He didn't look up when they came down the stairs. Mabel and Dipper exchanged a look before Mabel put her hand up, signaling that she would take the lead. They walked up to their father-who did look an awful lot like Stanley, say for a thinner build- and Mabel waved a hand to get his attention. He looked down from his phone and smiled warmly at his twins.

"Hello Dipper, Mabel." He said, nodding to each. He dropped his arm by his side, along with the phone. "What can I do for you two?"

"Hey dad, um, when can we visit Great Uncle Ford?" Mabel asked. She glanced sideways at Dipper who gave a very brief nod.

"Uncle Ford, hm? You asked at the beginning of the summer too, but he said he couldn't make it work. Maybe now that summers coming to a close he'd be more willing. I'll give him a call today." He gave them a wave before he went into a different room.

"So we never went to Gravity Falls?" Dipper asked when they were alone.

"I don't understand! Why wouldn't Great Uncle Ford want to see us? Do you think they're still fighting in this universe?" Mabel responded with worry and frustration.

"We need to stick around a little while longer and figure out what happened." Dipper said.

"Then we can go back and do whatever we need to do to fix this."

"We need to change our changes!" Announced Mabel.

Dipper nodded. "Possibly, or we may need to just change one more thing. We don't know yet. But we do know that we need to stay in this reality for a while longer. Let's start by searching the house for clues."

Dipper and Mabel were rummaging through the cabinets up stairs. They saw pictures of Stan and Carla on the walls but none of Great Uncle Ford. In Stan and Carla's wedding picture they were quite a bit older and their father had already grown into an adult. In fact he was the best man. One picture showed Stan and Carla together in front of the lake that looked a lot like the one from Gravity Falls. Underneath the picture painted in dark purple letters was _Starla._ Mabel shrugged because of course she would have done it.

Nothing in the cabinets was useful; they didn't come across any documents or photos. Later they went down stairs to the kitchen and looked at the fridge, which was covered in photographs. A lot of them from adventures Dipper and Mabel didn't remember having because of the alternate timeline. The set of twins looked grim as they scanned over the fridge.

"Dipper…" Mabel said. "I don't think I can do this. We completely changed the future. We need to go back." Mabel said, defeated.

"Mabel!" Dipper exclaimed. He was going to follow that with "We can't give up!" before his face suddenly fell. He looked at the ground solemnly.

"Mabel, I can't live with not knowing Gravity Falls…" Dipper said in a sad voice. He looked up at his big sis as tears formed in his eyes.

"Gravity Falls is like my home, I feel like-like it's where I belong." He sobbed silently as streams of tears rolled down his face. Mabel quickly took her brother in a warm and loving embrace.

"Dipper, do you want to go back?" Mabel asked him and he rested his head on her shoulder.

"We can call to Marcus, he can set it right…."

Dipper pulled away. "Ye-yeah, I think….."

Dipper stopped abruptly. His eyes were fixed looking over his twin's shoulder. Mabel turned around but did not see what he'd been looking at. They walked up to the counter together and Dipper picked up a postcard off the surface.

The headline read "Bright Montana Skies" over an image of a cliff and a dark forest underneath a clear sky illumined with thousands of stars and moonlight. It was hard to tell, but on the cliff was an observatory; Dipper recognized the large cylinder shape protruding form it as a telescope. Dipper flipped over. A hand written note on the back read:

 _Hello Fordy and Harper! Montana is great this time of year! The days are mild and warm and the nights are cool and magical! Do bring your twins up sometime soon! Lucy and Daniel are desperate to see their big cousins again! They don't have many friends you know. I'd love to see the two sets of twins running around the mountain together! Ritchie and I want your company sooo badly!_

 _Do come up soon!_

 _With Love, Leah_

Dipper and Mabel glanced at each other.

"Do you think that…?" Mabel started.

"Because of the telescope…." Continued Dipper.

"Great Uncle Ford…"

"Lives in Montana!" They cried together.

Mabel took the postcard and looked at it strangely.

"But who is Leah? Maybe she's just a friend and not connected to Ford at all."

Dipper took the postcard from her.

"I don't think so. Remember how Stan named his son after his brother? Well, I think Ford would do the same. He must have a daughter."

He pointed to a part in the text. "And look, Leah said _both_ sets of twins, so she and Ritchie have their own twins. Twins run in the family and skip a generation."

Dipper pondered more.

"Bright Montana Skies doesn't really tell us anything."

"Dipper look!" Mabel poked the postcard where the return addressed was listed. "Angle's Pinky, Montana!"

"You think Ford really lives there?"

Mabel shrugged. "Maybe. What if he started studying astronomy instead of weirdness because he got to go to his dream school?"

"That would make sense." Dipper agreed with a nod.

Leah's home number was on the postcard, but they decided not to call her. Even though she seemed close to their family, it would still be weird for them to start asking questions about Ford. If she really was his daughter, then they should already know those things.

"But maybe Leah's like me and would just go with it." Mabel had inquired.

"We can't risk it." Was Dipper's reply. "She may not even exist in the original timeline. It's best not to get involved with her."

"Do you think we'll have to put everything back to the way it was?" Mabel asked.

"What?"

"If we can't get it to work out I mean. We went to Gravity Falls for the summer because Great Uncle Ford did research there. If Stan didn't mess up his project he would have gone to a different school and studied something else."

Dipper was quiet for a moment. He wanted the Stans to be friends again. But he also wanted to be back in Gravity Falls. Could he and his sister really give that up for the happiness of the elder twins? And if they didn't, if they chose their own adventures in Gravity Falls, what would that make them?

Before Dipper could respond, their dad called out from the living room.

"Great news kids! I got a hold of Uncle Ford! Come on in so we can all talk to him together!"

They walked into the living room and saw their dad holding the home phone, and next to him was their mom. They were both relived to know that their dad had still married the same Harper in this reality.

"Stanford Pines." A familiar voice said.

"Hey Uncle Ford, It's me."

"Shermie? What is it?"

"It's about the kid's coming to visit you, again."

"Are they there now?" Stanford asked.

Their dad tilted to phone towards them.

"H-Hey Great Uncle Ford." Dipper said awkwardly.

"Hey Ford!" Mabel sang.

"Hi there Dipper and Mabel." Ford sounded very warm and bright. "I know how much you want to see where I work-you especially Dipper- but my observatory isn't really suited for living conditions. I manage because I'm a scientist, but you two need a proper home."

"But what about Leah!?" Mabel blurted out. Dipper snapped his head towards her with his eyes wide.

"Doesn't she live in the same town?" Mabel proceeded on, this time with more caution.

"She lives on the other side of town, yes. It's not exactly close though."

"Can we really not come to see your observatory just once or twice?" Dipper added nervously.

Stanford was silent for a moment, but they could feel him thinking through the phone.

"If you mean, stay with Leah and come to see me, then yes, I suppose that could work. Lucy and Daniel _have_ wanted to see you two very much."

"Great!" They said in unison with large smiles. Their dad brought the phone towards him and their mother.

"Thanks Ford." Said their dad.

"Thanks so much!" Was their mom.

They went on with idle chatter for a little bit then hung up.

"We're gonna see Uncle Ford! Mabel sang as she danced beside her brother. They were walking down the upstairs hallway. They reached the large window and Dipper suddenly jumped.

"Wait Mabel!" He yelled. He couldn't believe it. They'd gotten so caught in the trance of living this new life that they'd forgotten the mission.

"We can't do this! We need to go back right now!"

"But Dipper, why?" Mabel asked.

"We're getting two wrapped up in things. We need to go back to our reality and time. Marcus!" Dipper called up to the ceiling.

"Marcus are you there? If you are please pull us back. For a few seconds nothing happened, and Dipper feared that they severely messed up the time lime.

Then, they felt the familiar pull of the time traveling bathtub. Dipper sighed with relief and they closed their eyes.

Five second.

They opened their eyes and they were back in the temple. Marcus looked very concerned.

"Guys!" He said as he got up from the console slab and hurried towards them.

"I'm sorry guys, your plan didn't work. It caused some serious changes."

"Wait! Are-are things back to normal now." Mabel asked.

Marcus's face fell even more.

"I'm afraid not. At this point you already made the changes. The way you saw your family just then is how they are now. "

The twins cried out in horror.

"We need to fix it! I- Marcus, can we fix it?" Dipper asked.

Marcus sat back down at the slab and started rearranging things. He nodded his head.

"Yes, it's a simply change. This bathtub doesn't allow for paradoxes. If you go back to the same time you won't run into the you's who already went back."

"So what happens?" Mabel asked.

"I just send you back to the first time and then pull you back. You two don't do anything."

Mabel turned to her brother.

"Dipper are you sure? The twins…."

Dipper thought for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and looked into his sisters eyes.

"We've messed around with time enough. I-I think we need to just go back to our real time, and try to fix things in the present."

Mabel nodded sadly. They joined hands and looked over at Marcus. He nodded his head.

"Get ready, five seconds."

The young Pines twins paused for a moment.

Deep breath.

Underwater.

Five seconds.

They returned to the beach where that heartwarming scene of the two young twin boys played out. Dipper and Mabel watched them from a far. Sadness rushed over them. They knew that they were about to take their happiness in the future away. But then again, they didn't really know if Stanley and Stanford still had that great relationship in the reality they caused. Maybe the history and the weight of everything that happened to them could restore their relationship in the present. As well as the loving support of family.

Dipper and Mabel looked up into the sky. No words were spoken this time.

Pull.

Eyes closed.

Five seconds.

 **A/N:** **So we're not spending as much time in the new reality as I originally planned. That's because I thought up more ideas on dealing for the present. This wasn't just a filler chapter either, some details from this one will come up later on! No Stans interaction this time! Couldn't quite fit it in, and this chapter was delayed enough. Thank you everyone who's stuck with this story so far!**


	7. Chapter 7: From His Cave, He Emerges

We Need a Time Anomaly!

Chapter 7: From His cave, He emerges.

It felt stuffy in the Shack. Stan didn't blame the kids for going out so often lately. He wouldn't stay much either if we had the option. But the Mystery Shack was his pride and joy, the _one_ thing he was good at.

Also, it was unspoken, but everyone felt it. Stan held on to hope that Ford would come around. As unlikely as it seemed at the moment, he kept hoping. And Stanley Pines was not a man known for his optimistic worldviews. He wasn't the "It will all work out in the end" type of guy; he was a man of action, someone who made things happen.

But this was Ford. The little brother he loved so much and wanted so desperately to forgive him.

Ford, the braniac do-gooder. A guy who smothered his life in books and all things nerdy.

Stanley like the brute and tough lifestyle. Trouble maker, snarky, and confidant but lovable jerk.

They couldn't have been more different.

The twins came back when the sun was setting. They were unusually quiet, but Stan let it go. It couldn't be easy watching your Grunkles fight like that.

Grunkles. Plural.

That's' what they thought anyways. Stan wanted to come clean and tell them. Stan realized that he had called them grandkids when Ford questioned him about them. That was just a slip of tongue. Stanford II probably never used his childhood nickname. Heck, it was just what they called him as a baby, 'course it wouldn't stick.

So they didn't know who Shermie was, not really. They were probably too far in shock to realize there was something not quite right with their family tree.

Secretly, he hoped they would figure it out. Dipper was smart enough.

The basement was cold and uncomfortable. Lifeless. Stanford had finished shutting down the portal and containing anything that slipped through. Now there was nothing left to do.

Often he read through his journals, remembering all his encounters with the supernatural in Gravity Falls. Good times they were, then he went and messed it all up, building to portal and eventually going insane. Not to mention how he ruined Fiddleford's life.

Ford paused as he saw a slip of paper floating down from the ceiling. He looked at it curiously. It slowly came closer and closer, and eventually Ford could reach out and touch it. He reached his hand up and let it tap his fingertips, but he let it go and it floated elsewhere.

Right in that moment when it made contact with his finger pads, it straightened out right side up.

He recognized is as a receipt, although he didn't see the name Pines printer in the corner.

He watch it carefully as it floated through the air and eventually touched down to the floor delicately.

He turned away and adjusted his turtleneck, rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. He'd been so bored down here that he'd fall for any distraction from it. Nothing could cure the quiet though. That dreadful, piercing quiet that fell all around the room.

As he walked away, he heard the sound of gears and knots turning. He halted and didn't move an inch. The sound of a landing was heard.

Footsteps.

Behind him, Stanley Pines walked up.

He stopped where the paper had fallen and crossed his arms and he glared at his brother's back.

Ford was still, never turning back.

"You know brother," Stanley said, and Ford felt a great wave of release at finally hearing a voice properly. And not through that stupid vent that let him hear _everything_ from the gift shop.

He gritted his teeth.

"It's rude to give the silent treatment. I thought you might've know that." Stan said sarcastically and reached down to pick up the paper.

"But I guess I'll just get my stuff and leave." The bitterness in those words had a double meaning and Ford knew it.

Ford, who never turned around once to face his brother, listened to the clatter of his shoes against the floor as he left.

Finally left alone again, he son felt a heaviness drape itself onto his shoulders. The silence was closing in on him, and he didn't know how much longer he could bear it.

Stan was restocking the gift shop, as usual. It had been a very successful day of tours, but Stan still felt numb and unenthusiastic, despite how much money had been thrown to him.

The twins went right up to their room in the attic, and they look melancholy. Stan looked at the stairs and wondered if he should go up to talk to them. He thought that they might just want to be alone so they can talk. He imagined they did an awful lot of talking lately.

Stan checked the register one more time and then decided it was the right thing to do. He folded a wad of twenties and stuffed in his jacket. He straightened his clothes and fez and marched to the stairs. But before he could even leave the gift shop, Dipper and Mabel came bounding in.

"Stan Stan Stan!" They chanted.

Stan jumped back in surprise.

"Whoa kids! What're you doing? Trying to give me a heart attack?" He asked as he put his hands of his hips.

"Grunkle Stan, there's something we need to tell you." Dipper said.

"Me too kids, me too." He knelt down to meet them at eye level.

"Looks, I know I've lied, and cheated, and done lots of other things that we won't get into now. But you don't have all the facts right, so I'm gonna come clean. Right now."

Dipper and Mabel had tried to cut him off somewhere in the middle but Stan was persistent.

Stan told them about Carla McCorkel, the girl he was crazy for in his teens. He wanted to propose, but things had gone south with his family, and he was basically homeless. Carla stilled stayed with him for a while after, but soon she was swept away by the music craze. He mentioned the movie date.

"Your father, _Shermie,_ as we used to call him, wasn't the reason my life got so messed up. I loved him then, and I love him now. I just can't imagine what this'll all do to him."

Shermie's first name was Stanford II, and Sherman was his middle name. With two Stans already, they called him by his middle name to avoid confusion.

It also explained Dipper rather odd name. He and Mabel's middle names were their parents' first names. Mabel got Mabel Harper Pines, while Dipper was Stanley Stanford Pines. Stanley for the father his own dad lost, and Stanford after himself. Stan was a family name, after all.

"So kids, that's how the story goes." Stan finished and he stood up.

"Grunkle Stan-eh, Grandpa…?" Mabel asked.

"Let's just stick with Stan for now."

"Oh, okay. Well, see….we kind of…time traveled to get you and Ford to get along..." Mabel said while tapping her fingers.

"You what?!" Stan explained, startled.

"Don't wory! We put everything back the way it was." Dipper pipped in, waving his arms.

"We just wanted to and Ford to be friends again. That's it." Dipper said reasonably.

"But then the future got all messed up and never came to Gravity Falls!" Mabel cried.

"And there was this observatory, and I think he had twin cousins…?"

"Wait! Did you say _twin_ cousins?"

"Yeah. I mean, we didn't meet them though." Dipper replied.

Stan stepped forward.

"Was there, by chance, a woman named Leah?"

Dipper and Mabel exchanged looks.

"Wait! Just who is Leah exactly?" Mabel demanded.

"Okay, so you know those brown haired twins that live in down? We stole fish form them once."

"Yes…" They said together.

"Those are Leah's kids. They all live in Gravity Falls. Leah-"

They were interrupted as the vending machine door suddenly flew open.

Stanford Pines stood there, looking like he'd been hit by a ton of books. The ad never seem him like this before: eyes wide and pleading, almost desperate.

He breathed, so softly that is was barley audible.

"Leah…."

The attention shifted for a moment, as Stanley and Stanford looked at each other directly for the first time since the portal.

Mabel grinned ear to ear. They were wearing the sweaters.

When they came through the gift shop early Mabel noticed that Stan was wearing the black sweater she made with the golden claw design. She and Dipper mentioned it in passing as they climbed the stairs.

And now, Great Uncle Ford also wore his sweater; the dark red one with the golden six-fingered hand on it. They both silently wondered if the other had been wearing it not long ago in the basement.

Ford shifted back to the twins.

"Leah…Is my daughter"

"Great Uncle Ford, you have a daughter?" Dipper asked, astonished.

"Yes, when I lived in Gravity Falls I married a woman named Selene. Leah is our daughter."

"But where's Selene?" Mabel asked.

Ford sighed and rubbed his temple.

"We didn't stay together. I got into a bad place because of my research, and that was no place for Leah to live. We made that decision together."

"Leah still lives in town though." Stan said.

"Daniel and Lucy too." He said it to reassure Stanford, let him know that his own family was alright.

"They're twins too…." Stanford said, and a smile formed. It was the first genuine smile anyone had seem from Ford. He laughed and even held his stomach.

Stanley felt inclined to join him, but he held back. He hadn't seen his brother laugh in forty years; it was weird.

Ford wiped a tear from his eye and settled.

Mabel was looking at him very excitedly, and Dipper looked happy and content. Even Stanley dropped his glare and gruffness.

Mabel walked up to Ford and put her hand in his six-fingered one.

"Ford, I think it's time to see your little girl again."

Ford smiled down at her and nodded. Then he suddenly froze up.

"Uh, Stanford?" Mabel tugged on his hand.

He snapped out of it.

"Yes! Yes, yes, I'm fine. It's just….been such a long time."

 **A/N: Alright, so let me explain why this is SO late, although I'm not using it as an excuse. The main reason was that I kept rewriting it over and over again. It was really hard to come up with an idea for this chapter. It finally clicked last night so I hurried and finished it. You guys have been waiting long enough, so here it is! So sorry again for the delay, but I hope you continue to enjoy this story!**


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